Barbacoa Without the Backyard Digging

🔥 Happy Taco Thursday, Fam! 🔥

Barbacoa is one of those taco fillings that rewires your brain. Traditionally, it’s wrapped in banana leaves and buried underground in a fire pit. Iconic, yes. Realistic, absolutely not. Lucky for us, this shortcut still brings the deep, slow-cooked magic without digging a hole in your backyard.

Enter taco legend Joshua Weissman, serving up his no-nonsense take on barbacoa. Big flavor, zero shortcuts on taste.

👇 Scroll down to unlock the easiest way to bring barbacoa home.

Cheers & hot sauce!
~ The Taco Tuesday Crew 🌶️✨

Easy Homemade Barbacoa

Recipe By: Joshua Weissman
🌶️Fun Fact: Barbacoa dates back to the Taíno people of the Caribbean, who slow-cooked meat over wooden platforms, inspiring the word “barbecue” and today’s barbacoa traditions. 🌮✨

🌶️ What You’ll Need

2 lbs beef brisket, cut into 3” chunks
2 lbs beef cheeks, cut into 3” chunks
Kosher salt to taste
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups (475 ml) beef stock
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
4 guajillo chiles
2 tsp (5g) ground cumin
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
¼ cup water

Salsa Verde:
1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
4 jalapenos, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1.5 lbs (680g) tomatillos, skinned rinsed, and quartered
½ bunch of cilantro
Kosher salt to taste
Lime juice to taste

Taco Assembly:
Tortilla
Barbacoa Meat
Sweet onions, brunoise
Cilantro, finely chopped
Salsa Verde
Lime wedge

🔥 How To Make The Magic

🥩 The Meat (aka the main character)

1️⃣ Crank the oven to 300°F. Low and slow, baby.
2️⃣ Chop beef into chunky 3-inch pieces. Salt like you mean it.
3️⃣ Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high. Slick it with oil.
4️⃣ Sear beef in batches, 2–3 minutes per side, until deeply browned. Set aside.
5️⃣ Kill the heat. Return beef to the pot and add beef stock, garlic, guajillo chiles, cumin, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and water.
6️⃣ Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer immediately.
7️⃣ Cover with parchment, then a lid. Lock in the vibes.
8️⃣ Slide into the oven for 4–6 hours. Go live your life.
9️⃣ Shred aggressively with forks. Season with salt to finish.

🟢 Salsa Verde (the green sauce that steals the show)

1️⃣ Add onions, jalapeños, garlic, and tomatillos to a pot. Cover with water. Salt it.
2️⃣ Boil 5–8 minutes until tender.
3️⃣ Blend veggies smooth, adding cooking liquid as needed.
4️⃣ Toss in cilantro and blend again on high.
5️⃣ Chill over an ice bath. Finish with salt + lime. Bright, spicy, perfect.